Dear Mr Guppy
by Snugglebunny83
Summary: A happy ending for Mr. Guppy. All characters property of Mr. Charles Dickens.


Esther settled in to marriage quite happily with her husband Alan. One summer while visiting Mr. Jarndyce, they met a new acquaintance. A young heiress by the name of Jaquilynn Stevens. Esther liked Jaquilynn very much and the two of them became fast friends. They often paid calls on one another.

One day while visiting at the new Bleak House, Jaquilynn asked if Esther could recommend a good solicitor.

"As you know my dear friend, I have recently come into quite a large fortune. I feel it prudent to have a will made, and I wonder if you could direct me to a good, honest man who will be able to take care of all the particulars."

Esther smiled. She knew just the man. Mr. Guppy.

On her friend's recommendation, Jaquilynn paid a call on Mr. Guppy at his new law office. Esther had not told her much about Mr. Guppy, so she was expecting an old, possibly pompous type of gentleman. Therefore she was quite taken aback to see that Mr. Guppy was actually quite a handsome young gentleman. Not at all objectionable to look at.

"Mr. Guppy, I have come to you today with the wish to have a will drawn up."

"Yes, of course Ma'am. Shall we get started?"

"As you may know, I am a widow. My late husband and I had no children. Therefore, I wish that upon my death, everything to go to my two nieces."

"Very well. But what if you should marry again?"

"If that should occur, than I shall have a new document drawn up."

Mr. Guppy nodded, and returned his eyes to the document on his desk. Perhaps he leaned down a bit too far, because when he raised his head again, he had a smudge of ink on his nose.

When Mr. Guppy looked up at her and she spied the ink on his nose, Jaquilynn tried not to laugh, but a merry little giggle escaped her.

"I'm sorry, is something amusing you?"

"Oh dear, I'm sorry Mr. Guppy, but I'm afraid you've smudged your nose with ink!"

"What? Oh bother!" Mr. Guppy stood and looked in the mirror that hung on the wall behind his chair. She was right. There was a huge smear of black ink on his nose.

"Bother!" He exclaimed again, searching his pockets for his handkerchief. Alas, his pockets were empty.

"Please, let me." Presently his nose was softly dabbed with a clean handkerchief that smelled of lavender. A pair of blue eyes met his own brown ones that presently softened under her kindly gaze.

"Thank you." He said, smiling.

When their business was completed, Mr. Guppy escorted her to the door.

"A very pleasant evening to you Mrs. Stevens."

"Actually it's Miss Stevens. I've gone back to my maiden name after my husband passed. I do hope I can expect a call from you soon, Mr. Guppy? Good evening."

A few days later, Mr. Guppy entered his office one morning and found a small and rather curious package on his desk. He opened it. Inside were six brand new handkerchiefs, embroidered with his initials, B.G. All of them were sweetly scented with lavender.

He raised one to his nose, and breathed in its fragrance deeply. Closing his eyes, he sighed, "My angel." Mr. Guppy was smitten again.

Jaquilynn was rather worried that she was being too forward, sending the handkerchiefs to Mr. Guppy, but she found that she just couldn't help it. She was growing rather fond of him. His boyish awkwardness was rather endearing, and there was something familiar and almost home like in those warm, brown eyes of his. She felt almost like she knew him, perhaps from another place and time. Yet, he still hadn't called. She hoped that perhaps he was just shy.

Presently a knock sounded on her parlor door, and her maid entered, carrying a small bouquet of red and lavender colored roses.

"These just came for you, my lady."

"Thank you, Maria. Who sent them? Was there a note or some sort of message?"

"There was no note my lady. A gentleman brought 'em. A rather nervous young gentleman with brown eyes. He wouldn't come in."

"Oh, well, thank you Maria. You may go."

Jaquilynn smiled and buried her nose deep into her bouquet. She looked up the meaning of the flowers and their colors in a book, and smiled brightly as she learned that red roses meant romance and lavender ones meant love at first sight. _Dear Mr. Guppy_, she thought.

The next morning, she made up her mind to pay a call on Mr. Guppy. She woke early and put on her prettiest dress. A new blue silk that brought out the color of her eyes. As a final touch, she pinned two of his roses to her breast. One red, one lavender.

Mr. Guppy was quite surprised that he had a visitor waiting for him in his parlor. His surprise increased when he found his visitor was Jaquilynn. She was looking quite lovely, and he was touched to find that she was wearing two of his flowers.

"Miss Stevens! It is a very great pleasure to see you again. May I say you are looking quite lovely this morning, and such beautiful flowers you wear."

"Thank you for saying so Mr. Guppy. You look quite well yourself this morning. As for the roses, it seems a young gentleman brought them to me, although to my disappointment, he did not come in and present them to me in person. I do wish he would come forward so that I might thank him properly for his token of affection."

"You do?"

"Yes, indeed."

"And should this gentleman come forward, and perhaps offer you his hand in marriage, would you accept?"

"I would."

"You-you would? You care for him then?"

"I believe I do. I do hope he cares for me."

"Oh, my angel! I do care! So very much!"

Mr. Guppy knelt at her feet and took her hands in his.

"Will you have me then, as your husband?"

"With all of my heart! Now, come and kiss me like a proper gentleman, so we may seal our engagement, Mr. Guppy."

A year to the day, they were married. It was a lovely ceremony in the church followed by a lovely garden party at Bleak House.

Later on that evening, Jaquilynn was sitting up in bed waiting for her new husband to come to her. Mr. Guppy emerged from his dressing room, clad in a white nightshirt, smiling shyly.

Jaquilynn smiled reassuringly at him and held out her arms. He went to her eagerly. Soon the nightshirt was discarded, joined on the floor by a white silk gown.

"I love you Mr. Guppy."

"I love you Mrs. Guppy."


End file.
